Lakers News: Pundit Believes LA Should Start This Free Agent Signing At Point Guard

When the news dropped that the Lakers had signed former Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent, many wondered what that meant for D'Angelo Russell. After all, Russell was viewed to come back to the team and be the starter. But Vincent started for the Heat on their way to the NBA Finals this past season. So it really became a question of who would be the teams starter.

Lakers insider Jovan Buha said that Russell had the inside track to start but that Vincent could earn the spot if he out played Russell in training camp. This seems like the correct way to go about things as Russell did spend the second part of the year with LA and did play well for them until the Western Conference Finals. However, one pundit believes that Vincent should be the starter from day one.

Zach Buckley from Bleacher Report believes that LA would be making a mistake by starting Russell this season.

"The Lakers brought Russell off the bench exactly once this past season. It was the only elimination game they played. In other words, when L.A. was backed into a win-or-go-home corner, it determined its best chance to stick around involved sticking Russell on the second team. That's revealing."

Per Bleacher Report

Buckley makes a good point but the struggles of Russell were in such a short sample size. He was a big driving force as to why LA got as far as they did despite his issues on the biggest stage. If anything, maybe Russell can learn from that and be better next time around.

Vincent should be lethal playing next to LeBron James due to his ability to play off ball well, his hounding defensive instincts and hitting 38.7 percent of his open shots. James will find him good looks and Vincent just needs to knock them down.

As the season goes on, Vincent may become the better option to start but for now, that nod should go to Russell.

The training camp battle will be telling. How much pride will Russell have? He knows that he is back in LA due to convenience for both sides but a good season from him could turn into a big payday. These things work hand in hand.

It'll be interesting to see all play out but this is a good problem for LA to have.

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